The SDFLA Blog is dedicated to providing news and notes regarding federal practice in the Southern District of Florida. The New Times calls the blog "the definitive source on South Florida's federal court system." All tips on court happenings are welcome and will remain anonymous. Please email David Markus at dmarkus@markuslaw.com

Monday, March 16, 2015

What will happen to Judge Fuller?

Federal District Judge Mark E. Fuller was controversial even before he was arrested on allegations of beating his wife last year.
The
Alabama judge was criticized for sitting on cases brought by the
government even as his aviation company was getting hundreds of
thousands of dollars in taxpayer-funded business. Appointed by a
Republican, he was denounced for putting a former Democratic governor in
manacles after a corruption conviction.
He was the talk of the
courthouse for having an extramarital affair with his courtroom
assistant, and for his messy public divorce.
Fuller, 56, is now
battling bipartisan calls to resign over a fight he had seven months ago
with the same former courtroom assistant, whom he'd married. The
argument started after she accused Fuller of cheating on her with his
law clerk.
Adding
to Fuller's problems was that a few weeks after he was arrested, video
was released of NFL star running back Ray Rice knocking his fiancee
unconscious, putting a national spotlight on spousal abuse. The
Baltimore Ravens dropped Rice.
"If an NFL player can lose his job
because of domestic violence, then a federal judge should definitely not
be allowed to keep his lifetime appointment to the federal bench," said
Rep. Terri A. Sewell (D-Ala.).
Sewell and both of Alabama's
Republican senators, along with other members of the state's
congressional delegation, have called on Fuller to step down.
Fuller's
judicial career now rests largely with a five-judge review panel that
has investigated his behavior and is expected to release its findings
this month. A House of Representatives committee is gearing up for
possible impeachment hearings against Fuller, who was appointed to the
federal bench by President Bush in 2002.
Retired
Alabama federal Judge U.W. Clemon, who as chief judge of the U.S.
District Court in Birmingham dealt with similar ethical issues, said
that Fuller's constitutional appointment may not be enough to save his
job.
When a judge's behavior results in him "being thrown in jail
like a common criminal, that's not within the conduct that is condoned
by the Constitution," Clemon said.
Kelli Fuller, the former court
assistant who was divorced from Fuller after the incident, has not
spoken in public about what happened at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in
Atlanta last August. But her version is amply represented in police
files.
"He's beating on me! Please help me," Kelli Fuller pleaded
to a police dispatcher, who called for an ambulance and could be heard
telling a co-worker, "I can hear him hitting her now."

If
an NFL player can lose his job because of domestic violence, then a
federal judge should definitely not be allowed to keep his lifetime
appointment to the federal bench.- Rep. Terri A. Sewell (D-Ala.)

The
policeman who entered the hotel room found her with "visible
lacerations to her mouth and forehead" and said the room smelled of
alcohol.
"Mrs. Fuller stated when she confronted him about their
issues, he pulled her hair and threw her to the ground and kicked her,"
the police report said. "Mrs. Fuller also stated she was dragged around
the room and Mr. Fuller hit her in the mouth several times with his
hands."
Judge Fuller was taken to jail, where he spent the night
on a charge of misdemeanor battery. But he avoided a criminal record by
agreeing to a pretrial diversion program, including a drug and alcohol
evaluation and 24 sessions of domestic violence counseling.
Nebraska federal court Judge Richard Kopf, who writes a blog about judicial issues, called it "a sweet deal."

Hope everyone enjoyed Pi day this weekend. Get ready for March Madness this week. (And yes, the Canes were robbed.)

I favor impeachment for a couple of reasons. First, a number of federal judges engage in bad behavior which is routinely swept under the rug. Its time to expose this nonsense. Let Judge Fuller be a turning point. Second, the impeachment process will work as intended only if the process is used, and its efficiency will increase with each bad judge removed from the lifetime bench.

The Southern District of Florida blog was started by David Oscar Markus, who is a criminal trial and appellate lawyer in Miami, Florida. He frequently practices in federal courts around the country, including his hometown, the Southern District of Florida and the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals. He is a former law clerk to then-Chief Judge of the District, Edward B. Davis.